While it still may seem too early to think about Christmas, it’s time to book any getaways that you’re thinking of taking around the festive period, as a lot of popular attractions often sell out.
Train travel expert Monisha Rajesh appeared on The Travel Diaries podcast, which is hosted by Holly Rubenstein, to share her experience on taking a sleeper train in Finland with her family to go visit Santa Claus’ Village in Lapland. And she had nothing but praise to say about her travel experience.
“I would probably have done this journey even without my children,” Monisha said. “It’s a train in Finland that I’d read about that’s literally called the Santa Claus Express, and it’s a big double decker green train that has got a Santa Claus big circle face on the outside.”
She went on to explain the train left the Finnish capital Helsinki at 7.30pm and then travels into the depths of Lapland in Northern Finland. It then arrived at a city called Rovaniemi at 7am the next morning, which is wher Santa Claus’ village is located.
While it might seem daunting to bring your young children with you on a sleeper train, Monisha went on to say her young kids had loved the journey.
“And I did it with my children last December, and it was the most fun I think all of us have had on a train.
She went on to praise the design of the train, saying it was ideal for families. When booking a ticket, you can opt for normal seats, or a private cabin that comes with bunk beds. There is also a dining cart where you can enjoy your meals, or enjoy time outside of your seat or cabin.
“It happened to be snowing really heavily when we did it,” she said. “So it really felt like Christmas train crunching through the snow to get onboard.”
“The kids just had the best time,” she added.
As they arrived in Rovaniemi, they went on to visit the iconic’s Santa Village, which Monisha said was the most realistic set up she’d seen.
“It was such an incredible experience,” she said before urging others to look into going on the train as a bucket list item.
People quickly took to the comments to share their thoughts, with many wondering how much the train journey had cost. She went on to reveal she paid €210 (£181) for a family-of-four one way with beds.
According to the train company, Eurail’s website, prices vary depending on the specific route you want to go on, as well as the time of year and the demand, as the train usually is more popular during the winter months. A standard seat ticket will cost you between €5 – €32,70 (£4.33 – £28.33), while a double sleeper cabin will cost €39 – €150 (£33.29 – £129), and these included the whole private cabin.
People were also quick to share their own experiences, with one viewer saying: “Rovaniemi is just magical whatever age you are. It’s a must with young kids. After you leave you believe again… however it was -20c and below for the entire trip.”
“We’ve been there and it was one of our best trips ever!” another person said.